Prescription Drugs That Impair Memory

This recognition leads some people to disavow prescription drugs altogether - even when they’re helpful. Case in point: even if the anticonvulsant topimirate has nasty cognitive side effects [^1] if you’re a manic-depressive or epileptic the benefits may outweigh the downsides.

Anticholinergics

The worst offenders, cognitively speaking, are anticholinergics and benzodiazepines. Examples of anticholinergic drugs include tricyclic antidepressants and over-the-counter allergy medications like Benedryl.

Evidence from RCTs and studies of other designs indicates existence of additional statin-associated adverse effects (AEs), such as cognitive loss, neuropathy, pancreatic and hepatic dysfunction, and sexual dysfunction. Physician awareness of statin AEs is reportedly low even for the AEs most widely reported by patients.

The following drugs can impair memory function. If you're taking any of these medications, your doctor can substitute in an alternative that's less hard on the central nervous system. For example, instead of using Benedryl as a sleep aid, you could take hydroxylamine, rozerem or suvorexant. Or instead of using topimirate as a mood stabilizer, you could try lamotrigine, which is a cleaner drug.